Cofferdam



H. D. DEAM.

COFFERDAM.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 29. I919.

l1,395,631 Patented Nov. 1,1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

oooowoogobofl00909000014 H. D. DEAM.

COFFERDAM. APPLICATION FILED APR. 29, 1919.

Patented Nov. 1, 1921. 2 HEETS-SHEET 2.

0 1L0 IL the opening.

UNITED STATES,

PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY D. DEAM, OF BENTON HARBOR, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-EALF.TO. FRED J. PETROVICS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

COFFERDAM.

Application filed April 29,

To all whom it may concern."

Be it known thatI, HENRY D. DEAM, a citizen of the United States, residing at Benton Harbor, in the county of Berrien and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cofferdams, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to cotter dams, or means for closing openings in dams and the like, and particularly to means for closing openings in vessels, when the vessel has been injured in any manner, and is in danger of sinking. For convenience I have herein referred to the apparatus as a flexible boat patch, as the particular purpose of the invention is to provide a patch which can be used for closing openings in the vessels and which is sufliciently flexible to readily take the shape of the side of the vessel, and thus will more completely and etfectively close It is .to be understood, however, that the application of my invention is not necessarily confined to repairing ships, but may be used for many other similar purposes.

A further object of the invention is to provide suitable means, for temporarily clos ing the openings in vessels which are of such a nature that theycan be assembled or taken apart readily, and can be stored away in the vessel in a reasonably. small space; and to provide means so that the patch can be applied easily and quickly to the openingin the vessel.

Of the accompanying drawings Figure l is a plan view of the outer side of the patch, as it appears when assembled ready to be applied to the opening in the vessel. Frg. 2 is a fragmental view of the inner side of the patch assembled for use. Fig. 3 is an enlarged section along the line 3-3 of Fig. 2; and Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail view of a portion of the apparatus.

The patch comprises in general a gasket 5, composed of any suitable material; I prefer for the purpose a woven gasket composed of rope and oakum, and so constructed as to be more or less yielding, and suitably inclosed in some fabric such as canvas; so that when pressed against the side of the vessel the gasket will take the form of the vessel, and fit so snugly against the side as to prevent any material amount of water flowing between the gasket and the side of the ves- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 1, 1921.

1919. Serial No. 293,431.

sel. In order that the patch may be readily taken apart and stored away, the gasket is composed of a plurality of units 6 of suitable length, which are assembled as is hereinafter explained.

The framework and'body of the patch are composed of various metal pieces. The body comprises sheets of metal 7, which may be of any suitable size and-shape. I prefer for the purpose sheets about a foot or so in width, and from five to ten feet in length; it being advisable to have on hand sets of sheets of different lengths, so that the size of the patch may be varied by the use of sheets of any desired length, the other dimcnsion of the patch being varied by the number of sheets that are used. These sheets are connected to the framework comprising 1'. bars 8, which are adapted to extend across the patch to support the pressure of the water against the patch; it being understood that the gaskets 5 hold the body of the patch away from the side of the vessel, so as to throw the entire force due to the pressure of the water upon'the gasket; and hence it becomes necessary to support the body or the inner portion of the patch against the pressure of the water, not only over the openings of the vessel itself, but over the entire-space within the gasket.

The sheets of metal 7 are connected to the bars 8, by means of the straps 9 which are bolted at their ends to two adjacent bars 8, as indicated in Fig. 3, and are also bolted to the sheets 7 the sheets 7 lapping a suitable distance at each barS, and the lapping edges being bolted by means of bolts 10 to the flanges of the bars 8. In this manner the body of the patch may be built up to the size desired, as many sheets 7 being used as may be necessary to produce the' desired width, and, in case the sheets on hand are not of sufficient length, two sheets may be placed end to end and lapped and connected with the straps 9 to the bars 8.

The units of the gasket 5 are connected to the edges of the framework by means of bolts 11 the heads of which are fixed in any suit-able manner in the gaskets. I prefer for this purpose having each gasket supplied with a plate 13 having three bolts fixed rigidly thereto, the plates, and the spacing of the bolts being similar in case of all of the gaskets, and the spacing of the bolts corresponding to the spacing of the openings in the edges of the framework where the gasket units are to be applied. The gasket units when applied are pressed snugly together end for end so that when the pressure of the water is applied to the side of the patch the ends will be forced together, and will thus prevent leakage.

' Sheets 7 are connected to the framework also by means of three bolts permanently fixed to plates 12, all of these plates having the bolts similarly spaced so that the plates are interchangeable. In fact the invention consists partly in the interchangeability of all the similar parts; so that the parts may be stored away without any particular reference to the manner in which they are to be assembled, but the various similar parts being interchangeable the assembling may be very quickly carried out.

By providing oblong holes 1 1 in the straps 9, and by leaving the nuts on the corresponding bolts slightly loose, the flexibility of the body of the patch is materially increased; and by using sheets 7 which are thin enough to allow some springing when in use, the patch will be sufliciently flexible to assume, under the pressure of the water, the general contour of the side of the vessel, and will thus allow the gasket to be firmly pressed against the boat entirely around the opening. In order to apply the patch to the opening in the boat, cables 15 and 16 are connected to the patch in any suitable manner, one of the cables being intended to pull the patch downwardly, and the other to pull it upwardly. Although the weight of the patch is ordinarily sufficient to force it down under the water it is sometimes necessary to have means for pulling it entirely over the opening, as the pressure of the water on the side will frequently hold the patch so tightly against the vessel that it will not pass downwardly of its own weight sufliciently to entirely cover the opening. In View of this, the cable 16, which is preferably of metal, is passed under the boat in any suitable manner, and the patch may then be pulled downwardly by this cable and supported by the cable 15, care being taken that the patch is so manipulated as to entirely cover the opening before the pressure of the water thereon becomes so great as to prevent sliding of the patch on the side of the vessel.

It will be seen that by means of this apparatus in case of an opening of any sort formed in the side of the vessel, the patch may be quickly assembled and placed in position; and any leakage through the base of the patch or around the edges thereof which may result may be taken care of by ordinary pumps in the vessel itself; it being understood that any suitable means may be provided if desired for preventing leakage through the body of the patch, such as suittioned apertures therethrough fixed to said frame, and said gasket being fixed to the outer edges of said frame.

2. A boat patch comprising a body, a frame comprising a plurality of bars slidably cross connected, and a gasket, said body comprising sheets of metal fixed to said frame, and said gasket being fixed to the outer edges of said frame, and being composed of yielding-material.

3. A boat patch comprising a body composed of a plurality of long narrow sheets of metal connected at their edges and a gasket fixed to theouter edges of the body.

Q 4. A boat patch comprising a body composed of a plurality of long narrow sheets of metal connected at their edges and a gasket fixed to the outer edges of the body, said gasket extending entirely around the outer edge of said body.

5. A boat patch comprising a body composed of sheets of metal connected at their edges and a gasket fixed to the outer edges of the body, said gasket comprising a plurality of similar units of yielding material, and means connecting saidgasket units to said body fixed to each of said units.

6. A boat patch comprising a body composed of sheets of metal connected at their.

edges and a gasket fixed to the outer edges of the body, said gasket comprising a plurality of similar units of yielding material, and means connecting said gasket units to said body fixed to each of said units, said gasket units being similar and said connectilliog units all being alike and interchangea le.

7. A boat patch comprising a body, a 'frame, and a gasket, said body comprising sheets of metal having similarly positioned apertures therethrough fixed to said frame, and said gasket being fixed to the outer edges of said body, said frame being composed of similar interchangeable units, and said gasket being composed of similar interchangeable units.

8. A boat patch comprising a body element, a frame element, and a gasket element, said body element being fixed to said frame, and said gasket being fixed to the outer edges of said body, each of said elements being composed of a plurality of interchangeable units, whereby said elements may be readily assembled into patches of varying sizes. V

In testimony whereof, I hereunto set my hand. i

HENRY D. DEAM. 

